


Fault

by Sirius4Life



Category: Alex Rider - Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Angst, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:53:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27353770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sirius4Life/pseuds/Sirius4Life
Summary: Alex and Ben are captured on a mission. Ben tries to protect Alex by being cold and distant so their captors won't have a reason to hurt him. However, that decision does more harm than good.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.  
> Trigger Warning: Torture  
> This is based off the prompt by Valaks and imtoolazytothinkofausername with their permission.

As Ben sat tied to a chair in the middle of the target’s base, he wondered how the mission had gone so wrong. It had been a simple mission; infiltrate the base and grab a flash drive. Ben looked over at Alex, still unconscious, tied to the chair facing him.

He needed to protect Alex. The only reason they were still alive was because the target wanted information from them. They were likely to focus there attention on Ben, as he was the senior agent that would have the most information, which meant that Ben had to give them no reason to focus their attention on Alex. As much as he hated the idea, he would have to pretend not to care that Alex was there. That he wasn’t concerned with what happened to Alex. 

Alex began to stir. He tugged at his restraints for a moment before giving up and looking up at Ben. His eyes were wide with fear that he was trying to contain. He couldn’t afford to panic right now. 

“Fox! Are you okay?” Alex asked. 

“I’m fine. Are you badly injured?” Ben said in a neutral tone. 

Ben hated how uncaring he sounded but he didn’t know if the target had cameras in the room. _It’s the best way to protect him_ , Ben reminded himself. 

“No…I don’t think so.”

Alex didn’t get a chance to say anymore before the door was thrown open and in walked their target. 

The target walked over behind Alex and placed his hands on Alex’s shoulders, fixing Ben with a twisted grin. 

“Well, look at what we have here. MI6’s little pet and his handler.” The target said. 

Ben said nothing and tried not show to how much he hated how close the target was to Alex. _It’s for his own good_ , Ben reminded himself once again. 

The target frowned; he obviously hadn’t gotten the reaction he’d been hoping for. He moved out from behind Alex so that he was now standing slightly in between Alex and Ben. He pulled a knife out from it’s sheath around his waist. 

“Why were you sent here? What do you know?” The target demanded. 

Ben didn’t say anything. The target waited a moment before letting out a sigh before turning to Alex and slicing him with the knife across his arm. 

Alex gasped at the sudden pain and felt unwanted tears well up in his eyes before he could stop them. Alex looked up to see the target looking down at him with grim determination. Alex looked over at Ben, expecting to see a look of concern, but instead saw the same indifferent expression that Ben had been wearing the entire time. Alex knew what Ben was trying to do. The target would only hurt him more if Ben tried to stop him. That didn’t mean that it was going to be any easier for Alex to take. 

“Let’s try this again. Why were you sent here? What do you know?” 

Again, Ben remained silent, fixing the target with a cold stare. 

“Very well.”

The torture went on for hours. Everytime the target’s questions were met with silence, Alex was given another cut of the knife. It wasn’t long before Alex was no longer able to fight back the tears. Still, Ben said nothing. 

The torture finally stopped when Alex passed out. Ben didn’t dare let out the sigh of relief that threatened to escape. He just kept staring forward. The target wiped the blood off his knife before returning it to its sheath and walked out of the room without another word. 

Ben looked over at Alex and felt his heart break, though he didn’t show it. He hoped that Alex understood what he was doing, that he was trying to protect Alex the best he could. He would make it up to Alex when it was all over. 

_Just hang in there Alex_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider  
> Trigger Warning: Torutre, Needles/syringes.

The first thing Alex saw when he came to was Ben asleep in his chair across from him. Alex was relieved, he couldn’t look at Ben’s uncaring expression again quite yet. He knew it wasn’t fair, that Ben was trying to protect him by hiding his concern, but it still hurt. He also couldn’t help but doubt that it was an act at all. Maybe Ben blamed him for getting captured and decided this would be his punishment? Alex shook his head, no, that wasn’t Ben. 

Alex was pulled out of his thoughts by Ben waking up. He watched as Ben slowly straightened up and opened his eyes. Ben looked at Alex with an unreadable expression for a moment before speaking.

“Has he come back?” 

“No, not since I’ve been awake, which hasn’t been long.”

Ben didn’t say anything to that. 

The room filled with silence once again. Alex hated the silence but didn’t know what to say. Any conversation would ultimately be very one sided. _If Ben would just talk to me_ , Alex thought. 

The door opened and the target walked in and faced Ben.

“Let’s see if you’re feeling chattier today,” The target said as he pulled out a syringe, “once I inject little Alex with this, it will cause him unbearable pain for the next couple of hours. Tell me what I want to know now, and you can spare him.”

Ben said nothing. 

The target injected Alex with the poison before Alex could even cry out. It only took a couple seconds for the pain to start. Alex twisted in pain as much as he could in his restraints. It felt like every part of him was on fire. He couldn’t stop the tears or the whimpers of pain that escaped from him. 

“I could give him an antidote and stop the pain early…. or I can let it run its course. It’s up to you Ben.” The target said. 

“Ben! Please!” Alex cried. 

Ben remained silent. 

The target looked at Ben in surprise. He had thought that seeing the kid in such a state would certainly have caused him to break. 

“Really? You won’t help him?”

“He needs to learn his lesson”, was all that Ben said. 

The next couple hours were filled with Alex’s cries and pleas to Ben to make the pain the stop. Each cry and plea were met with cold silence. Eventually, the poison ran its course and as the pain ebbed away, Alex passed out from exhaustion. 

The target left without a word, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts. Each one of Alex’s pleas and cries had felt like a stab to the heart. He had come close to breaking more than once, something he was sure the target noticed, but somehow, he had managed to keep his silence. He just hoped Alex still understood that he was trying to protect him, that he didn’t blame him for getting captured, and that he certainly didn’t deserve to go through such pain.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider.  
> Trigger Warning: Torture, broken bones.

_“He needs to learn his lesson.”_

The sentence kept playing over and over in his head. Alex had wanted to believe that Ben was being distant to try and protect him…. but that had just been a wish. Ben blamed him for getting captured. Ben thought he needed to be taught a lesson. Alex glanced at Ben who hadn’t even said a word since they had woken up. Alex didn’t know what hurt worse; the torture or knowing Ben was disappointed with him. 

The door opened and the target walked in. It didn’t look like he had brought another syringe with him. Alex nearly sighed in relief; he didn’t want to go through that ever again. The target didn’t say anything as he strode over to Alex. He grabbed one of Alex’s fingers, bending it back til it couldn’t bend anymore. 

“Why were you sent here?” The target asked, staring at Ben. 

Ben stared at Alex’s hand but said nothing. The target bent Alex’s finger back until there was a small crack which was followed by a short cry from Alex. The target grabbed another one of Alex’s fingers and bent it back like before.

“Why were you sent here? What do you know?” 

Again, Ben stayed silent. Ben winced as he heard the finger crack and as Alex let out a whimper shortly afterwards. However, this time the target took it a step farther by twisting the finger, causing Alex to once again cry out in pain. 

“Please! Ben! I’m sorry! I’ve learned my lesson! It won’t happen again! Just….Please!” 

Something in Ben broke as he heard those cries. Alex believed that Ben thought he deserved this. He couldn’t let Alex believe that. As the target grabbed yet another finger, Ben called out. 

“Stop! We were sent here to steal a flash drive; it was supposed to contain a list of all your clients!” 

“And what do you know?”

“Not much. Only that you’ve been selling weapons in the America’s for years but have recently started selling in Europe.”

The target stared at him, looking for any sign that he was lying. The target must have found what he was looking for because he let go of Alex’s finger and walked over to Ben. 

“That wasn’t so hard now was it?” 

Ben glared as a response. He wasn’t going to give the man anymore satisfaction than he already had. The man gave Ben a twisted smile. 

“Normally, I would just kill you both and be done with it, but the two of you have quite the price on your heads. Might as well sell you to the highest bidder.”

The target walked out of the room without another word.

Ben turned to Alex, who was staring down at the floor. He waited for Alex to look up before he said anything. 

“Alex. It’s going to be okay. MI6 will be here soon.” 

“I’m sorry. I messed up. I’ll make it up to you.” Alex said desperately.

“Alex. This wasn’t your fault. You’re not the one that messed up, I did. I shouldn’t have let him hurt you. I’m sorry Alex.” Ben pleaded.

Alex looked at Ben with hurt in his eyes. Ben could tell that Alex was struggling on what to believe. It was then that Ben realized just how much damage his silence had done. Alex had always been one to believe that actions spoke louder than words, and right now, Ben’s action were telling him quite a different story to the one that Ben was trying to tell him. Ben would have given anything to run over and hug Alex, to hold him and assure him that Ben would never let this happen again but before Ben could say another word, alarms began ringing in the compound.


End file.
